Updates from the LAPT event in Punta del Este Level 13 (1,200/2,400/300) will be posted here and come courtesy of live bloggers Brad Willis and Change100.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 2:25pm

2:25pm–Break time

The remaining 45 players are headed to a 15-minute break. While you’re waiting, check out this Day 2 preview from the PokerStars Video Blog team.

Watch LAPT Punta del Este S2: Day 2 Intro on PokerStars.tv

2:22pm– A monster pot to send us to break

Tournament Director Mike Ward’s announcement that “Maximilian is all in for 49,500″ sent us scurrying to the feature table to catch the action in what would be a monster pot. With the board reading Jd-9h-2h-7s, Maximilian Heinzelmann made a significant all in overbet with the 4h-5h and got a call from Alejandro De Arruaballena, who held Kh-Js. The 5c couldn’t do it for the young German and he hit the rail just as the final seconds of the level ticked down. De Arruaballena lost the first five minutes of the break stacking up his massive lake of chips but something tells us he wasn’t too upset about it.

2:20pm–The turn giveth…

And the river taketh right the heck away. Just ask Marcelo Costa. He got all in with K-T against Vialaret Ezequiel’s K-Q. Bad news, to be sure, especially after the A-6-9 flop. But there it was, glorious and spectacular–a ten on the turn. But what? Yep, that’s a queen on the river. It cost Costa the rest of his chips and leaves him short of the money by about ten spots. We’ll let you figure out which player is which by looking at the two photos below.

 
2:08pm– Cowboys save Neto

Marcelo Costa opened from the hijack seat and a short-stacked Ricardo Goncalves Neto moved all in from the cutoff. Costa called the small balance and saw the bad news– his Ad-Qh was up against Neto’s Kc-Kd. The board ran out 9h-9s-2c-9c-7s and nines full did it for Neto, doubling his stack to 33,000.

Ricardo Goncalves Neto breathes a sigh of relief as his kings hold up

2:00pm–Salvagno gives some more back

Chip leader Mario Salvagno just lost a race for a 60,000 chip pot. He got it all-in pre-flop with a pair of sixes against Tiago Boita’s Ad-Qd. The board ran out to an ace on the river. Salvagno is still in good shape, but the 30,000 hit obviously didn’t feel very good.

1:50pm–Andre Ventura eliminates Juan Jose Perez

Rodrigo Acerbi Lasmar came in for a raise and got a call from Andre Ventura. Juan Jose Perez squeezed all-in from the small blind. Lasmar mucked fairly quickly, but Ventura made the call with Ah-Qh. Perez turned over A-J. The board was irrelevant, except for Lasmar who grumbled. He’d folded a pair of threes which would’ve flopped a set. Ventura was left to spend the next five minutes stacking chips.

1:46pm– Rowe KO’s Neto

With the action folded to him in the small blind, Francisco Neto moved in for his remaining 18,600 and Day 1 chip leader Oliver Rowe made the call from the big blind. Neto needed some help, his Ah-Th dominated by Rowe’s Ac-Jd, but couldn’t improve on the Kc-6d-6s-4h 9h board, sending him to the rail.

1:37pm– Try not to hit the boom…

Growing short-stacked, Walter Arakaki moved all in from the button and Juan Jose Perez quickly called from the big blind. Perez’s Ac-Kc dominated Arakaki’s As-Td, but fortunes were reversed when the flop came down Th-6d-2h. Arakaki went wild, leaping from his seat and unleashing a torrent of Spanish as ESPN’s crack sound operators moved their boom mikes up and away to avoid smacking him in the head as he celebrated. The turn was the 7s, the river was the 4c and Arakaki doubled up, leaving Perez with 36,000 in chips.

As Arakaki celebrated, one table over Samo Muhia committed his last 9,400 chips with 3c-5s and couoldn’t outrun Clemenceau Merheb Calixto’s Ac-Ts and made a quiet exit.

1:30pm–New level, new blinds

We lost ten players in Level 11. We now have 54 players in the field playing at 1,200/2,400/300 blinds.

After Day 2 of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament in San Jose, California, a total of 36 players and four bounties remain. The tournament saw a total of 391 entrants, including 50 Shooting Stars, take to the field in total.

Updates from the LAPT event in Punta del Este Level 11 (1,000/2,000/300) will be posted here and come courtesy of live bloggers Brad Willis and Change100.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 1:22pm

1:22pm– Alberto Font takes out Pablo Zarnicki

We caught up with this hand on the flop, the board reading Js-7c-2s. Pablo Zarnicki put out a nearly pot-sized bet and Alberto Font made the call. Zarnicki couldn’t move all in fast enough when the Ah hit the turn and Font snap-called, revealing a set of deuces. Zarnicki, bluffing with Ks-Qc, was drawing only to the four remaining tens in the deck and couldn’t get there on the river, his lake of tumbled chip stacks pushed across the table to Font.

1:15pm–It was always a race…

When you have a pocket pair against overcards, it’s easy to accept you’re in a race pre-flop. However, once the cards come down and you see the flop and turn, it’s a little harder to accept you’re still racing. Poor Alexandre Reichardt De Souza started this day with just a little more than 20,000 chips and needed a good race to double up. He found it with pocket sevens versis Juan Jose Perez’s K-Q. When the flop and turn brought 4d-5d-Th-5h, the man with the sevens started to look pretty happy. If not for that pesky Ks on the river, everything would’ve been fine. Instead, De Souza is gone.

1:11 pm– Alberto Araujo doubles through Mario Salvagno

Mario Salvagno opened from UTG for 6,000, Alberto Araujo moved all in for 14,700 and Salvagno called the 8,700 balance. Araujo’s Ac-Kc dominated Salvagno’s Ah-3h and with the board running out Jc-6d-4s-7c-Ad, he doubled through our current chip leader. Salvagno, though still likely has that title– his stack is still well over the 170,000 mark.

12:59 pm– Alex Brenes eliminated

Over on the TV featured table, a short-stacked Alex Brenes moved all in for 22,600 from under-the-gun and Magno Aragao made the call from the button. It was a race situation with Th-Ts for Brenes and the Ad-Jd for Aragao. The flop was Kh-Qs-7d, Brenes still leading, but the Td on the turn made Aragao an ace-high straight. It also gave Brenes a set of tens and some hope if the board paired on the river, but it was the 2h and Brenes exited stage left.

57 players remain in the field.

12:56pm– There’s no Judice here

With the action folded to him on the button, Bjorn Ivan Johansen open-raised, Renato Judice moved all in from the big blind for just over 20,000 and Johansen made the call, turning up Kc-9c to Judice’s Jd-Th. The flop came down Ks-7h-2s, pairing up Johansen. The turn gave Judice some hope when the Qs fell, giving him and open-ended straight draw, but the river blanked out withthe 4d and Judice hit the rail.

12:44pm– Mario Salvagno= your new chip leader

On a flop of Qh-Th-3h, Sebastian Stratta got the rest of his chips in the middle and got a call from Mario Salvagno. Salvagno held Ah-Ts for middle pair and an ace-high flush draw while Stratta revealed As-Qs. The turn was the Jc, but the 6h made Salvagno’s flush, eliminating Stratta and vaulting him into the chip lead.

12:40pm– Rosamelia Ferreira, our last woman standing, is eliminated

Rosamelia Ferreira came into Day 2 with only 15,500 in chips and when Ernesto Panno moved in ahead of her, the Kc-Js looked like a decent enough hand to make her last stand with. Unfortunately, Panno turned up the worst hand possible for her– Kd-Kh. The board ran out Jh-8c-4s-7c-6d and Ferreira hit the rail after graciously shaking her executioner’s hand.

12:35pm–Down to seven tables

With the loss of our 64th place finisher, Table 8 has broken and we’re down to seven tables in play.

12:29pm–Like Helvetica?

Alberto Font started the day second in chips. Yesterday, we described him as a hard-to-read Font. Today, Brazil’s Tiago Boita seems to think he’s got a read on his man. Boita came in for a raise to 3,600 from the cutoff. The button folded and Font re-raised to 15,000 from the small blind. Boita barely though before pushing in 40,000 more. Font raised an eyebrow,

“You’re happy?” Font said.

“I’m happy with this,” Boita said, waving his hand over the chips already in the pot.

Font pondered his move for a minute or so before folding.

Boita flashed Ad-Qh. Font shook his head. Though Font didn’t say a word, his face was as clear as Helvetica. It said, “You’re pushing on me with that?”

Boita shrugged and raked his chips.

12:23pm–Let’s find us a final table

After a short delay for players to sign their TV release forms and such, TD Mike Ward just announced, “Shuffle up and deal.”

12:00pm — Play about to begin

The final 64 players are taking their seats and unbagging their chips. We expect play to begin shortly.

Updates from the LAPT event in Punta del Este Level 11 (1,000/2,000/300) will be posted here and come courtesy of live bloggers Brad Willis and Change100.

Click refresh to see the latest updates.

Last update 1:22pm

1:22pm– Alberto Font takes out Pablo Zarnicki

We caught up with this hand on the flop, the board reading Js-7c-2s. Pablo Zarnicki put out a nearly pot-sized bet and Alberto Font made the call. Zarnicki couldn’t move all in fast enough when the Ah hit the turn and Font snap-called, revealing a set of deuces. Zarnicki, bluffing with Ks-Qc, was drawing only to the four remaining tens in the deck and couldn’t get there on the river, his lake of tumbled chip stacks pushed across the table to Font.

1:15pm–It was always a race…

When you have a pocket pair against overcards, it’s easy to accept you’re in a race pre-flop. However, once the cards come down and you see the flop and turn, it’s a little harder to accept you’re still racing. Poor Alexandre Reichardt De Souza started this day with just a little more than 20,000 chips and needed a good race to double up. He found it with pocket sevens versis Juan Jose Perez’s K-Q. When the flop and turn brought 4d-5d-Th-5h, the man with the sevens started to look pretty happy. If not for that pesky Ks on the river, everything would’ve been fine. Instead, De Souza is gone.

1:11 pm– Alberto Araujo doubles through Mario Salvagno

Mario Salvagno opened from UTG for 6,000, Alberto Araujo moved all in for 14,700 and Salvagno called the 8,700 balance. Araujo’s Ac-Kc dominated Salvagno’s Ah-3h and with the board running out Jc-6d-4s-7c-Ad, he doubled through our current chip leader. Salvagno, though still likely has that title– his stack is still well over the 170,000 mark.

12:59 pm– Alex Brenes eliminated

Over on the TV featured table, a short-stacked Alex Brenes moved all in for 22,600 from under-the-gun and Magno Aragao made the call from the button. It was a race situation with Th-Ts for Brenes and the Ad-Jd for Aragao. The flop was Kh-Qs-7d, Brenes still leading, but the Td on the turn made Aragao an ace-high straight. It also gave Brenes a set of tens and some hope if the board paired on the river, but it was the 2h and Brenes exited stage left.

57 players remain in the field.

12:56pm– There’s no Judice here

With the action folded to him on the button, Bjorn Ivan Johansen open-raised, Renato Judice moved all in from the big blind for just over 20,000 and Johansen made the call, turning up Kc-9c to Judice’s Jd-Th. The flop came down Ks-7h-2s, pairing up Johansen. The turn gave Judice some hope when the Qs fell, giving him and open-ended straight draw, but the river blanked out withthe 4d and Judice hit the rail.

12:44pm– Mario Salvagno= your new chip leader

On a flop of Qh-Th-3h, Sebastian Stratta got the rest of his chips in the middle and got a call from Mario Salvagno. Salvagno held Ah-Ts for middle pair and an ace-high flush draw while Stratta revealed As-Qs. The turn was the Jc, but the 6h made Salvagno’s flush, eliminating Stratta and vaulting him into the chip lead.

12:40pm– Rosamelia Ferreira, our last woman standing, is eliminated

Rosamelia Ferreira came into Day 2 with only 15,500 in chips and when Ernesto Panno moved in ahead of her, the Kc-Js looked like a decent enough hand to make her last stand with. Unfortunately, Panno turned up the worst hand possible for her– Kd-Kh. The board ran out Jh-8c-4s-7c-6d and Ferreira hit the rail after graciously shaking her executioner’s hand.

12:35pm–Down to seven tables

With the loss of our 64th place finisher, Table 8 has broken and we’re down to seven tables in play.

12:29pm–Like Helvetica?

Alberto Font started the day second in chips. Yesterday, we described him as a hard-to-read Font. Today, Brazil’s Tiago Boita seems to think he’s got a read on his man. Boita came in for a raise to 3,600 from the cutoff. The button folded and Font re-raised to 15,000 from the small blind. Boita barely though before pushing in 40,000 more. Font raised an eyebrow,

“You’re happy?” Font said.

“I’m happy with this,” Boita said, waving his hand over the chips already in the pot.

Font pondered his move for a minute or so before folding.

Boita flashed Ad-Qh. Font shook his head. Though Font didn’t say a word, his face was as clear as Helvetica. It said, “You’re pushing on me with that?”

Boita shrugged and raked his chips.

12:23pm–Let’s find us a final table

After a short delay for players to sign their TV release forms and such, TD Mike Ward just announced, “Shuffle up and deal.”

12:00pm — Play about to begin

The final 64 players are taking their seats and unbagging their chips. We expect play to begin shortly.

When we began the Latin American Poker Tour event in Punte del Este yesterday, the 327 starting players were scattered over three rooms. Today, with 64 players remaining, we’ve moved to one room. By the time the day ends, we’ll only need one table.

When we last left our fearless poker players, those 64 left the room behind chip leader Oliver Rowe. Just one step and 1,000 chips behind him was second place Alberto Font.

When we begin the day here in a few minutes, players will be coming back to 1,200/2,400/300 blinds. To replace the flowing prose from yesterday, we’re going to give you run-and-gun coverage as we head toward the money bubble. The top 36 will get paid. The final nine will get one more day in the tournament.

Today also begins feature table coverage by the ESPN crew in the room. The TV lights are on and the featured table is ready for its players.

Play begins in just a few minutes.

The London Poker Circuit management have taken the decision to Merge Day 1A and 1B of the £1000 main event this week, and Day 1 will now be held this coming Friday March 20th.

While we poker players know that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 is a pile of garbage, it did, to some extent, have its intended effect. As e-wallets and other online poker funding methods started drying up for United States residents, it became harder to get money in and out of poker accounts.

While newspapermen started writing about the World Series of Poker during its very first year, Benny Binion’s tournament wasn’t captured on film until 1973, when CBS News made a documentary narrated by…

Sixteen players have each paid £2,500 for the opportunity to become the London Heads Up Poker Champion. The event, which kicks off the 11 day festival of poker at London’s Grosvenor Victoria Casino will see the winner take home a first prize of £20,000 and a seat at the £100,000 GUKPT Champion of Champions tournament in December.

Back in our day, we didn’t have any of these durrrrs or these Ziigmunds. It was all about sbrugby – he was the internet legend, the best player in the world who moved from $0.50/$1.00 to $200/$400 in a year.